LA Galaxy Academy Teams Travel to Arizona

CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, November 14, 2012) –The LA Galaxy U-18 and U-16 Academy teams will travel to Arizona this weekend to take on unbeaten Real Salt Lake-Arizona in U.S. Soccer Development Academy play at the Casa Grande Soccer Complex. The U-18’s will kick off at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, followed by the U-16’s at 12:30 p.m.

The Galaxy U-18’s are undefeated through their first six games of the season, tallying a 5-0-1 record and outscoring opponents 19-6 in the process. RSL-Arizona are also undefeated so far this season, entering Saturday’s game with a 6-0-2 record.

Unlike two weeks ago, when the Galaxy beat San Diego-based Nomads SC 1-0, LA will have an almost full compliment of players available for this game. Forward Paul Arriola, team co-leader in goals Justin Dhillon, midfielder Willie Raygoza and defender Nathan Smith are all back after missing the win over Nomads while on official recruiting trips. However, Jack McBean, who is tied with Dhillon for the team lead in goals with five, is not expected to be available as he will be in Seattle with the first team taking on Sounders FC in the second leg of the Western Conference Championship in Seattle the following day.

The U-16’s will enter their game with RSL-Arizona in the midst of a two-game winning streak, which includes an emphatic 6-0 win over Nomads SC last weekend that included goals from five different players. The two wins, which snapped a four-game winless streak to open the season for the squad, have helped LA move up to third place in their division with a 2-2-2 record. Just like their U-18 counterparts, the RSL-Arizona U-16’s enter Saturday’s game with a 6-0-2 record, including a 3-0-1 mark at home.

Aside from the U-18’s and U-16’s, only two other Galaxy Academy teams are in action this week. The Galaxy U-14’s will look to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 as they take on Real So Cal White in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Saturday at 3 p.m., while the Galaxy U-15’s will look to rebound from last week’s loss to FC Golden State when they taken on Santa Clarita Valley at 12:40 p.m. on Sunday at West Ranch High in Santa Clarita.

Last week, the Galaxy U-14’s extended their unbeaten streak to nine games with 5-3 win over FC Golden State. Jesus Nuñez of Anaheim scored twice and three other players– Salvador “Chava” Segura of Bell Gardens, Colin Apel of La Cañada and Pierce Williams of Irvine– each added goals in the win. With the victory, the U-14’s are now 8-0-1 on the season and remain tied for first place with United FC, who also have a 8-0-1 record.

The Galaxy U-13’s were also victorious last weekend, beating Santa Barbara SC 4-1 on Saturday. Angelo Deloso-Flocco scored on either side of halftime while Lucas Rosales of Thermal added a pair of second half goals to help the Galaxy improve to 8-1-0 on the season, leaving them six points behind the first place San Diego Pateadores. The Galaxy U-12’s, however, were not as fortunate and dropped a 3-1 decision to Real So Cal. Marcos Rosales, the younger brother of Lucas Rosales, scored the Galaxy’s lone goal as the club fell to 2-4-3 on the season.

GALAXY TEAMS SET TO TAKE PART IN U.S. SOCCER WINTER SHOWCASE: Following this weekend’s games in Arizona, the Galaxy U-18’s and U-16’s will travel to Florida to participate in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Winter Showcase. The Showcase, which will be played at the Premier Sports Complex in Bradenton, Fla. from Nov.30-Dec. 4, will see both Galaxy teams face off against Academy teams from the Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids and New York Red Bulls. The U-18’s will face the Crew on Nov. 30 at 12:15 p.m., the Rapids the following day at noon and the Red Bulls two days later on Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. The U-16’s will open the Showcase against Columbus on Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. before taking on Colorado on Dec. 2 at noon and closing the competition against New York on Dec. 4 at 9 a.m.

ARRIOLA AND DHILLON CALLED INTO U.S. U-18 CAMP: Galaxy U-18 forwards Paul Arriola and Justin Dhillon were named to the U.S. Under-18 National Team roster by Head Coach Javier Perez for an upcoming training camp that will run Nov. 17-24 at The Home Depot Center. Arriola is a mainstay in U-18 squad since Perez was named coach in February, having been named to the roster for three of the last four camps while this is the first U-18 time that Dhillon has been included in a U-18 squad. After leading the Galaxy U-16’s in scoring last year with 22 goals, Dhillon has five goals in five games with the Galaxy U-18’s this season, leaving him tied with Jack McBean for the team lead in goals. As part of the camp, Arriola, Dhillon and the rest of the U.S. roster will play two friendlies against Canada on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. READ MORE

THREE PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN U.S. U-14 CAMP: Galaxy midfielder Ateno Ajeakwa of Gardena, Calif., goalkeeper Erik Lopez of Westminster, Calif. and forward Jose Ortiz of Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. were selected to participate in the upcoming U.S. Under-14 National Team Training Camp that is scheduled to take place here at The Home Depot Center from Nov. 17-25. Ajeakwa, Lopez and Ortiz, who have helped guide the Galaxy U-14’s to a 7-0-1 record in the SCDSL, were selected from a group of 50 players that participated in a recent U.S. National Team ID camp in Carson, Calif.

SOUTH BAY AND ORANGE COUNTY WINTER ID CAMP DATES SET: The LA Galaxy will be hosting three-day identification camps in the South Bay and Orange County from January 2-4. Players, ages 8-14, will have the opportunity to be coached and evaluated by the Galaxy Academy staff during camps, which will be held at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach and Cox Sports Park in Ladera Ranch. The coaching staff will use these camps to identify future players for the Galaxy Academy. The cost for registration is $150. To register for the camps or for more information, please visit www.lagalaxy.com/camps/winterid.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Game Date

LA Galaxy U-14 vs. Real So Cal White U-14 Saturday, November 17Game will be played at North Ranch #1 in Thousand Oaks at 3 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-15 vs. Santa Clarita Valley SC U-15 Sunday, November 18Game will be played at West Ranch H.S. #1 in Santa Clarita at 12:40 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-16 vs. Real Salt Lake-Arizona Saturday, November 17Game will be played at Grande Sports World – Field 7 at 12:30 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-18 vs. Real Salt Lake-Arizona Saturday, November 17Game will be played at Grande Sports World – Field 7 at 10 a.m.

Times and locations for all games are correct as of Wednesday, November 14. Click here for a complete schedule of games in the Southern California Development Soccer League and U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which includes the Galaxy Academy’s U-16 and U-18 teams.